University of Illinois fundraising official defends clout list

A key fundraiser at the University of Illinois defended the use of clout lists in the admissions process, telling a state commission Wednesday that it's important for school officials to know which applicants have ties to big donors.

Sidney Micek, president of the University of Illinois Foundation, said his group's input helps admissions officers put applications into perspective.

"They value friends of the university," Micek said. "They value that information as part of the process. It's appropriate information to pass along."

The foundation, a not-for-profit organization that serves as the university's fundraising arm, has lobbied the admissions office on behalf of at least 20 students in the last three years, according to public records. Micek told the Illinois Admissions Review Commission that he personally gets about three requests a year, which he typically forwards to the Urbana-Champaign campus.

Often, he would include information about the donor's generosity, though he testified he never listed specific amounts. Admissions officers then would place the students on clout lists reserved for those with ties to elected officials, university trustees or important donors.

"I really don't see that, quite honestly, as influencing the decision," he said. "In the end, it's up to the university to decide what it values."

A Chicago Tribune investigation has found that more than 800 undergraduate applicants received special consideration from 2005 to 2009 after being placed on the clout lists, known internally as "Category I." An unknown number of law and graduate school applicants also got undue attention.

Though most U. of I. officials have acknowledged at least some inequities in the admissions system, Micek is the first to voice unequivocal support for the way the university handles special admits. He said all universities, both public and private, give preferential treatment to applicants backed by those with political or financial sway.

"I don't think the university has done anything wrong," he said.

The commission, which has been holding hearings for nearly a month, has toyed with the idea of creating a firewall to protect the process from outside influence. Micek, however, said he would frown on any recommendations that would preclude him from forwarding donors' requests to admissions officers. "I would really hate to see that," he said.

The system doesn't disenfranchise lower-income students, he said, because generous donors help pay for scholarships that make it possible for underprivileged applicants to attend the university.

"If they get in," Commission Chairman Abner Mikva quickly added.

Micek denied that the foundation's requests put any pressure on campus officials, though commissioners seemed skeptical. Mikva, in particular, shook his head when Micek insisted admissions officers don't equate a donor's interest in an applicant with a financial interest for the campus.

"This is nice B.S.," Mikva said.

At least one university trustee has questioned the role donors play in university admissions. In testimony Tuesday, David Dorris cited an e-mail written by a law school official after Dorris' relative applied. Though the e-mail exchange noted his position as trustee, it also said Dorris, a successful Downstate attorney, was not a major donor to the law school.

Public documents show similar comments were made about trustee Devon Bruce when he recommended a student to the law school.

In Dorris' case, the relative was wait-listed and ended up attending another law school, he said.

"What would have happened to [my relative's] application had I been a major donor?" Dorris testified. "That admissions office was regularly checking on the donor status of special students."

The state commission will resume the hearing Monday in Urbana. The panel is expected to release its recommendations by Aug. 8.